The dried fruit of a perennial herbaceous plant, celery seed has a pleasingly crisp texture and subtle flavour. The odour of the green stalk and leaves is distinctly different from that of the seed, which has a characteristic warm and slightly bitter taste. Celery seed is widely used in foods, beverages, drugs and perfumery. Celery requires sandy loam soil with a good content of organic matter and plenty of moisture. Mostly produced in Punjab, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Indian celery dominates the world market. Several commercial grades of celery, besides its essential oils, are exported to USA, Singapore, France, Japan and the UK.

Celery seeds are the dried fruit of Apium graviolens, which belongs to the parsley family. The seeds are very small, oval-shaped and light brown in color. They have a crisp texture subtle flavour.

The celery seeds was initially used as a medicine only. Soon it started appearing in pickling recipes and before long people started using it more widely in cooking. Today, celery seeds are extensively used in foods and beverages.